Pirate’s Den reopens in new spot as Barn 34

Barn 34 is a new restaurant built in a renovated barn at 34th Street and Coastal Highway in Ocean City. The barn used to house a Christmas shop. (WTOP/Michelle Basch)

OCEAN CITY, Maryland – A breakfast spot that was a favorite in Ocean City for years, the Pirate’s Den, had to close to make way for new construction.

But the owners have opened a new place, Barn 34, that serves the same morning favorites.

“We have about eight different eggs benedict options, we have Captain Crunch French Toast,” says Michael Lawson Jr., who co-owns the restaurant with his parents.

The barn used to be a Christmas shop at 34th Street and Coastal Highway, and it was built about 40 years ago.

But the wood it’s made from is much older.

“They had to tear down a bunch of different barns from up and down the East Coast to get enough wood to get this whole place built,” Lawson says. “The structure itself is amazing, and just the atmosphere it puts off is great.”

The now-converted building has two dining levels with a bar on each one, a ping pong table, a Pac Man table diners can both play video games on and eat on, and a decor that melds the traditional with the modern.

There are also reminders of the old restaurant that were saved and are being enjoyed again.

The former home of the Pirate’s Den, the Ocean Voyager Hotel on 33rd Street, was demolished to clear the way for a new La Quinta Inn & Suites which is still being built.